By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Summer’s Grab Bag
Marg-Ins
Marg's Mug.jpg

Here we are in July and we have had a bit of an unusual early summer, what with some rain and then a turning up of the heat in May, followed by cool breezes and some below normal temperatures the last few days of June … it’s hard to tell what we’re going to get. That’s the way the summers were back home in upstate New York; you could always count on some incredibly humid days but just as many that were rainy.

Kind of a grab bag, which is also what this column is going to be since there are so many topics rolling around in my brain that are looking for a place to land.

First off, my daughter’s wisdom teeth extraction went as well as could be expected; she did get very tired of yogurt and Jell-O and said she would never take chewing for granted again. She had all four pulled and the recovery was a bit slow; she couldn’t really talk for the first couple of days so there was a lot of note passing back and forth. She was a little bit weepy when she came out of the anesthetic and on the ride home when I asked if there was anything she needed, she pointed at a pair of sunglasses on the dashboard. So I handed those to her but it only made her sadder; I was supposed to know that they were Judd’s (her fiancé’s) sunglasses and that her pointing at them meant that she wanted Judd. I figured it out eventually but it took a few questions and then when I got it right the big tears that had welled up in her eyes spilled down her cheeks. Nothing more pitiful than an inconsolable young lady with gauze stuffed in every corner of her mouth.

On our return to Modesto a week later for her follow up visit, things looked pretty good and she is mostly back on solid food, much to her delight.

Women’s World Cup Soccer continues and we also enjoy sharing that, I really like how the women don’t get as dramatic as the guys when they get taken down. Most of the ladies just get back up and continue playing; the guys often go a little over the top with the rolling around in pain. Reminds me of our earliest travel soccer days when Ally was 11 and made a U14 girls team. She was about half the size of some of her opponents but, to her credit, what she lacked in size she made up for in speed, heart and determination and she was never one to back down from a challenge in her many years of competitive play. It’s one of those things that you think is going to last forever when you are in it and then all of a sudden it’s over. We sure do like dusting off the memories and the soccer videos, though, and reliving the moments.

One other thing we have shared through the years is our participation in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life and now that it’s official, I can announce that I will be serving as the ‘lead’ or ‘chairperson’ for the 2020 Oakdale-Escalon-Riverbank-Waterford event. It was something that, when I first got involved with years ago, hoped one day to have the time to be able to take the lead. Having served in a variety of roles in Oakdale and also in Escalon when that community had its own relay, I’m excited about stepping in to lead the combined event next year. We will be getting our ELT, Event Leadership Team, together soon and can use some help, so if you’re interested, just get in touch with me. We all know someone who has been touched by cancer, either themselves personally or a family member or friend, and our goal is to help provide money for research, education and patient services to help in the fight. The actual Relay won’t be until next spring but we’ll be getting started on the planning soon; stay tuned.

In the meantime, hit the pool, head to the mountains or enjoy a day by the beach – it is summer, after all.

 

Marg Jackson is editor of The Escalon Times, The Oakdale Leader and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 847-3021.